Great to live in streaming age: Siddharth on playing varied roles in ‘Op Safed Sagar’ & ‘Lust Stories’

Actor Siddharth praised the streaming era for enabling artists to take on contrasting roles, citing his characters in “Operation Safed Sagar” and “Lust Stories 3”. Filmmakers discussed bold programming, audience expectations, algorithms, entertainment and the evolving streaming landscape at FICCI FRAMES

Mumbai: Actor Siddharth says he is grateful to be working in the streaming era, where artists can move freely between vastly different characters.

Giving the example of his last two streaming projects, war drama series “Operation Safed Sagar” and anthology movie “Lust Stories 3”, Siddharth expressed gratitude to streaming platforms like Netflix to have made it possible for him to take on contrasting parts in a span of 90 days.

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“I’m grateful for the work I get and for the belief that people put in me. So, the difference between Ajay Ahuja and Badru is not much because the director who gave me Ajay Ahuja wanted me to walk in his shoes and then Vishal Bhardwaj gave me Badru and wanted me to walk into his little sarong. So, the confidence and belief they put in you is the same,” the actor said on day one of FICCI FRAMES.

In “Operation Safed Sagar”, Siddharth played the decorated war hero Ajay Ahuja, while in Bhardwaj’s segment of “Lust Stories 3”, he portrayed Badru, who becomes the subject of a woman’s fantasy.

Talking about “Lust Stories”, the actor said he found the idea of women’s fantasy “progressive”.

“It talks about what women want, which is equally an important agenda to talk about. I’m grateful that we live in a streaming age where you can get work, which in one word you say, ‘tudum’,” he said.

The actor was part of a panel discussion, titled “What audiences want, what creators are imagining and how bold programming choices are shaping what comes next.” It was attended by filmmakers like Suresh Triveni, Farah Khan, actor Riteish Deshmukh, writer creator-showrunner Abhijeet Singh Parmar, and Monika Shergill, Vice-President Content, Netflix India.

Triveni, known for films “Jalsa”, “Maa Behen” and others, said the industry needs to move beyond relying on algorithms and predictions while deciding what audiences might watch.

“Algorithm is past, what we need is reading algorithm and predicting things. We need to be brave,” he said, adding, and we are still guarded.” Khan talked about her experience of hosting “Lock Upp”, a reality show where celebrity inmates are sent to a new-age prison for a game of power and redemption, and said it was a “dream job”.

“The need to entertain is part of the blood, I can’t let anyone get bored. Like, when actors take pause in my movies, I tell them not to do so as I’m falling asleep. Hence, YouTube came easily to me, I just go with the flow.

“But doing ‘Lock Upp’ was little (different) in the beginning. The show talked about human nature, people’s secret, and how every boy was sexually molested but in an entertaining way.” Deshmukh, who served as a co-host on “Lock Upp”, said the reality show gave its participants an insight into human nature.

“‘Lock Upp’ has been one of the best experiences. It wasn’t like a job, it felt like a holiday. We learnt a lot ourselves and that was eye-opening as the show is about human nature, and how celebrities were vulnerable in front of each other,” he said.

Shergill announced the return of “Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa” for a second season, at the event.

“‘Lock Upp: Sach Yaa Sazaa’ became appointment viewing overnight. Viewers were invested, debated, and kept coming back,” she said.